Michael Moore: A Love Story?
Not So Much

The filmmaker is enjoying modest success with his most recent movie, "Capitalism: A Love Story," employing his trademark guerrilla documentary tactics to take on Wall Street and Capitol Hill. It follows films that cut a similarly sharp edge, including "Fahrenheit 9/11," a critique of the Bush administration; and 1989's "Roger & Me," about the struggle of Flint, Mich., to survive General Motors Corp.'s downsizing.

Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore faces a bevy of critics who are increasingly targeting him and the messages of his movies with videos of their own, WSJ's John Stoll reports.

But less is known about a cottage industry that has emerged in recent years: filmmakers looking to take on the 55-year-old Mr. Moore at his own game.

There's Minnesota filmmaker Michael Wilson, who made 2004's "Michael Moore Hates America." It portrays Mr. Moore as being disingenuous to his interview subjects and profiting from their misfortune.

"Fahrenhype 9/11," written in part by former Clinton administration adviser Dick Morris, and "Celsius 41.11," directed by Kevin Knoblock, both from 2004, defended George W. Bush as he sought reelection. "Michael & Me," directed by Republican talk-show host Larry Elder, came out a year later, defending gun advocates against Mr. Moore's claims.

Then came "Me & Michael," a 2006 spoof on Mr. Moore's tactics. After director Willard Morgan pesters and follows Mr. Moore for months, mimicking Mr. Moore's style, Mr. Moore calls him a "stalker" and suggests he get medical help.

"There's been almost a dozen films that have been made against me," Mr. Moore said in a recent interview at a theater in Flint. "There's actually more films made attacking me than films I've made."

In the growing anti-Moore library, there is nothing quite like "Shooting Michael Moore," made by Kevin Leffler, a 52-year-old certified public accountant, who also teaches at a college in Flint. His 80-minute movie has similarities to the others, with a big exception: Mr. Leffler grew up in Davison, Mich., with Mr. Moore. They went to the same high school, attended the same Catholic church and both of their fathers worked at General Motors.

Local roots helped Mr. Leffler tap people in and around Davison, a middle-class suburb of Flint, who were in Boy Scouts, served on the school board and ran newspapers with Mr. Moore.

"I am doing exactly what Mike would do, except I am doing it to him," says Mr. Leffler. "And I'm doing it as a guy who knows him."

Mr. Leffler's movie, first conceived in 2004, has been redone once and had a limited run in Detroit and Miami late last year. He's spent more than $200,000 of his own money on it.

In his film, Mr. Leffler revisits some stars of "Roger & Me" -- including Rhonda "The Rabbit Lady" Britton -- who say Mr. Moore exploited them to paint Flint in an unfairly gloomy hue. Ms. Britton, whose business advertised rabbits as "pets or meat," added drama to "Roger & Me," as she killed and then skinned a rabbit on camera, while talking about ways to make money.

In one scene, Mr. Leffler rows a boat to the back of Mr. Moore's Michigan home and goes on his property, carrying a life-size cutout of Mr. Bush, which he leaves next to a hot tub.

His quest also gets personal, digging into Mr. Moore's tax statements and past stock holdings of his charitable foundation. He finds what he believes to be indications the filmmaker double-dipped on property-tax breaks and a foundation he founded once owned shares of companies he takes aim at, such as Halliburton Co. and Tenet Healthcare Corp. Public documents, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, show the foundation, the Center for Alternative Media & Culture, which listed Mr. Moore as president, held shares in Halliburton in 2000 and in Tenet in 2002, along with many other stocks.

In an email, Mr. Moore said: "I have never owned a share of stock in my life and the only time I've double dipped into anything is at the snack tray." A spokesman for Mr. Moore didn't respond to a question about the foundation owning stock.

Mr. Moore also said, "I've made a lot of enemies in all the right places and there aren't enough hours in the day to respond to either the well-financed corporate hacks or the lowly stalkers who seek to libel me or make a buck off the fact that I'm a well-known person."

Mr. Leffler, a registered Democrat, says his motivation isn't political. "It's just that as we watched Mike evolve, many people around here, including me, weren't buying his act."

Kevin Leffler

Three years younger than his subject, Mr. Leffler says he knew of Mr. Moore in high school, but didn't become friends with him until later, when he worked for a crisis-hotline Mr. Moore started, answering calls from teens.

At that time, Mr. Moore's profile in Davison was already rising. He was elected to the school board at 18, running on a platform that included distributing beanbag chairs to students. His style attracted critics even then, prompting a campaign to recall him.

James Dowsett, then-head of the school board, remembers Mr. Moore always taking the opposing viewpoint on the board and doing his Eagle Scout project on how "dumpy" Davison is.

"I did a filmstrip on pollution in the Davison area as my Eagle Scout project and showed it around town," Mr. Moore says in an email. "Businesses who were the polluters were mad at me."

While Mr. Moore's films have made millions -- "Fahrenheit 9/11" grossed $222 million internationally at the box office, making it one of the most successful documentaries ever made -- Mr. Leffler's only movie has seen limited success. This month, his distributor, Florida-based Television Syndication Co., spent time at a trade show in France, where it says there was interest in the film.

Since 2004, Mr. Leffler has poured time and funds into his movie, to the point where he says "my credit cards are melting." He traveled to hospitals in Cuba, he says, with a hidden camera in an effort to poke holes in Mr. Moore's "Sicko" documentary, which shows Americans getting stellar care there.

Recently, Mr. Leffler was divorced. "I'd be lying if I said my passion for this movie didn't play a role," he says. "It wasn't the only factor, but it played a role."

Mr. Moore expressed outrage at the movie's title and isn't interested in talking with its maker. "Anyone who suggests violence doesn't get the olive branch," Mr. Moore said. He recalls Mr. Leffler saying the title is a double-entendre. Mr. Leffler says the title only refers to shooting with a camera.

Mr. Leffler says he also goes way back with Jeff Gibbs, who works with Mr. Moore. Mr. Leffler accuses Mr. Gibbs of applying pressure to Carmike Cinemas, a theater chain, to retreat on showing "Shooting Michael Moore," even after Mr. Leffler offered to change the title to "Exposing Michael Moore."

Dale Hurst, a marketing official for Carmike, says the company had scheduled to show the movie, but pulled it. He declined to give a reason.

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